Net neutrality opponents outspend supporters on lobbying

The report comes as the Federal Communications Commission is moving forward with a proposal that would create fast lanes for Internet traffic from websites that can afford to pay for them. The FCC voted 3-2 in favor of the proposal on Thursday. The regulations are in a public comment period.

The Sunlight Foundation found that the top 20 organizations that have filed the most lobbying reports on net neutrality from 2005-2013 are split evenly, with half supporting neutrality, half opposing it. The number of reports they file, however, is far from equal.

The five most active organizations all oppose neutrality, with Verizon Communications and AT&T Inc. leading the way by each sending about 119 lobbying reports on neutrality from 2005-2013. The most active supporter of net neutrality, AOL, sent about 25 reports over that time.

There’s also a disparity in spending between the two sides.

Four of the five biggest spenders on net neutrality lobbying expenditures since 2012 oppose neutrality, according to the Sunlight Foundation. That includes the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, which spent $18.89 million; AT&T Inc, which spent $17.46 million; Verizon Communications, which spent $15.02 million; and Comcast Corp., which spent $14.68 million on anti-neutrality lobbying that year. Google Inc. spent $18.22 million on pro-neutrality lobbying.

The Sunlight Foundation tracked lobbying expenditures among those 20 organizations with the most lobbying reports. See what it found below.